


Dine and Dash

by Dyde21



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Annabeth does good for once, Annabeth is a punk, F/M, Percy is just trying to get by, Things Go Wrong, Waiter!Percy, punk!annabeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22172782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyde21/pseuds/Dyde21
Summary: Annabeth meets up with her friends at the local diner for some food before a night of drinking. However, their waiter seems to be down on his luck and a lot seems to be going wrong. Annabeth's lack of impulse control leads to her helping out and making a new friend.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Comments: 4
Kudos: 84





	Dine and Dash

**Author's Note:**

> Warning, I swear a bit more in this story than usual!

Shoving Piper to the side playfully, Annabeth laughed as they leaned against her car. They were currently parked outside the local diner, waiting for their friends to show up. She took another drag from her cigarette, turning her head to blow the smoke as Piper rolled her eyes.  
“You still on that?”  
Annabeth shrugged. “It’s good stress relief.” She offered, before glancing at her sideways. “Besides, addiction is a bitch.”  
Piper nodded. “True, but there are resources.”  
Annabeth nodded. “Yeah yeah, sometime.”  
Piper glared at her, but decided not to push her. She was in a relatively good mood, and she wasn’t looking to fight with her best friend tonight. “When will the boys be here?”  
Reyna popped her head out from the window of the car. “About five, they’re almost here.” She offered, before leaning back into the car and turning up the music again.  
Annabeth watched the smoke drift into the air as she bobbed her head to the loud music blaring from the car. Honestly the bass kinda sucked in her car, but leaning against it she could feel the vibrations through her whole body with the beats of the song and it helped distract her.  
Finals for their term of college had been stressful, so they had decided to blow off steam tonight. Get a dinner, then party at Piper’s house and drink until she woke up the next day. One of her better plans if you asked her.  
Hazel climbed out of the car on the other side, pulling her jacket around her. “Can we go in? It’s getting cold.” She asked, giving a pointed glare to Annabeth’s cigarette.  
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth dropped the cigarette and stamped it out. She knew her friends hated the habit more than she did, Hazel especially. It wasn’t like she liked smoking, but she had tried it in highschool, trying to be cooler and the habit stuck with her unfortunately. It wasn’t like she was unaware of what that stuff did to you.  
Hazel flashed her a grateful smile, before leaning next to her against the car and nudging her side. She was the youngest of their group, and subsequently the one that got in the least trouble. But she was friends with Reyna and Annabeth had grown fond of the girl. Even if only to protect her. No one messed with their group, she made sure of that.  
Before long, another car pulled up as she recognized the old beat up Ford Jason parked next to them, hopping out of the car and moving over to Piper, wrapping a hand around her waist as they kissed.  
Annabeth scoffed and pushed off the car. “Save that till we go home after the party.” She said, rolling her eyes and starting to lead the group over to the diner. Leo and Frank joined them as they walked.  
“No Nico?” Annabeth asked, as Piper pulled open the door for her.  
“Date with Will.” Jason offered.  
Annabeth nodded, not surprised.  
As they approached the till, she had to admit she was a bit amused by the momentarily worried expression that crept across the boy’s face.  
“7?” She answered the question he hadn’t asked yet.  
He nodded, grabbing a stack of menus and looking across the place for a second.  
“Right this way.” He said as he lead the group through the mostly empty diner towards one of the back corners. There was a large booth with enough space for all of them.  
Annabeth slid in at the end, resting her chin on her palm as she watched him.  
They had been to the diner occasionally before, so she recognized him. She didn’t know his name or anything about him, but he worked here pretty often. Piper had said that he was the son of the lady that owned it. He was honestly kind of cute, in the nerdy, put together way that made her want to know what he’d be like if he let loose for once. From Annabeth’s experience, the more put together someone was, the more they were holding back.  
He glanced up at her, meeting her eyes for a moment. He offered her a brief smile before looking away, a slight rose tint to his cheeks that made her snicker.  
Piper apparently heard her laughing and nudged her side. “Don’t tease the waiter. He’s nice.” She warned as Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t doing anything.”  
Piper gave her an unimpressed look.  
“Yet.” Annabeth finished a bit reluctantly.  
“Yet.” Piper repeated. “I like this place, the owner is nice and the waiter is too. I don’t want to get banned from here too.”  
Annabeth nudged her back. “That wasn’t my fault. Those girls picked a fight with me. I finished it.”  
“Yeah, you also ended my chances at getting Pizza from there again. Now I need to send Jason whenever I want it.”  
Annabeth winced slightly before looking away. Maybe losing her cool like she had that day hadn’t been her smartest plan. Working on that was on her list too. Right next to stopping smoking and screwing up every relationship she had with a person.  
Piper rubbed her back reassuringly. “It’s all good. Let’s just eat, I’m starving and I don’t want to start drinking on an empty stomach.”  
Annabeth nodded as they finished piling into the booth.  
“My name is Percy, and I’ll be your waiter today. Can I get you started with some drinks?”  
They all ordered their drinks as he jotted them down. He wouldn’t make eye contact with her when she said hers, and her amusement shifted to concern slightly. Was she really that intimidating?  
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she tried to listen back into the conversation. They were going over how their finals went and Annabeth smirked as she saw Frank and Hazel giving each other eyes. They were a little less public with their affection than Jason and Piper were, but they were hopelessly in love, it was honestly pretty cute.  
Eventually Percy came back with a tray of drinks, setting them down and impressively getting them all right. He even managed a small smile to her when he gave her her drink, and Annabeth did her best to return it. He seemed nice, so she figured she could play nicely.  
“Did you figure out what you want to eat yet, or would you like some more time?”  
They all glanced around at each other for a moment before they nodded. “We’re good.” They ordered their food. He dutifully took notes for each one, promising to be back quickly as they went back to their conversation.  
Not long after Annabeth looked away from her conversation with Jason when Piper nudged her side. Following her subtle pointing, she saw a pair of of familiar guys enter the diner and Annabeth let out a groan, feeling her appetite fading already.  
“Really? Octavian has to show up here?”  
She muttered under her breath, glancing over at Reyna to see her already flipping him off with his back turned.  
Octavian was a rich kid that thought he was better than everyone just because his parents were wealthy. Reyna and himself had apparently had quite a bit of trouble in highschool because of her humble upbringing and attitude that was as bad as her own.  
They were seated in a booth not to far from them, and another two guys joined them a minute later. Those guys Annabeth recognized better, they were assholes. No other word for it, problem children like she was, but they didn’t actually give a shit about others.  
She just hope-  
Sure enough a moment later Percy was at their table, taking their orders. Judging by their obnoxious laughing and the way she saw his shoulders slump, they weren’t exactly being great customers either. Still, to her amazement he kept his cool and eventually seemed to get the info he needed and had hurried away from them. Annabeth knew she would have lost her cool by then.  
Her eyes followed his form to the little cubby where waiters went to fill drinks and she saw him leaning his head against the soda machine as she saw his shoulders rise and fall with deep breaths. He seemed either miserable or pissed, or perhaps both, and she couldn’t blame him.  
He headed back over to their table, plastering on a warm smile as he approached. “The food will be here shortly, is there anything you need?” He asked, glancing at each of them.  
They shook their heads, and Piper flashed him one of her award winning smiles. “No, thank you thought Percy. We appreciate it.”  
Annabeth saw his smile seem to grow a little more genuine as he perked up a bit at being treated like an actual human.  
“Well let me know if you need anything, and I’ll go check on your food.” He promised, turning around. As he started to walk away, one of the guys from Octavian’s table was leaving the restroom. Percy tried to wait, but the man threw out an elbow as he passed, knocking him backwards a little.  
Percy stumbled back towards the table, reaching out.  
Annabeth’s eyes widened as she held up a hand ready to help catch him. He managed to catch himself on the table, but his elbow knocked over her coke, spilling it all over the corner of the table.  
“Shit!” She said, jumping up to avoid the coke spilling all over her as Piper quickly tipped the cup back up.  
“Fuck! Damnit!” Percy said, quickly pulling out a small rag from his apron and starting to mop at the mess.  
“Shit, I’m so sorry!” He said, desperately trying to clean up the mess.  
“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” Annabeth said, grabbing the napkins Piper held out to her as she dried off the bench as the group worked to make sure everything was out of the way so it could be cleaned up.  
There was a chorus of laughter from Octavian’s table and Annabeth was about to go over there until Piper caught her wrist. Glancing back at her friend, she saw her give her warning look, before glancing over to Percy who looked like he just wanted to die as he tried to fix the mess. Sighing, Annabeth relaxed her fist and Piper let go of her arm.  
“I’ll be right back, I’m grabbing some spray so it doesn’t get sticky.” He said, practically running back to the cubby and returning a moment later with a clean cloth and a small bottle of cleaner. Another minute later and everything was cleaned up, and the table was being settled back to it’s old place. “I’ll get you another coke, one second.” He said, unable to meet her eyes as he scampered away.  
For a second, she swore she heard him mumble something about losing another tip.  
Annabeth watched him pour her drink from the machine, once against resting his head against the machine. She genuinely felt bad for him, customer service was hard enough without some assholes making your life miserable for shits and giggles.  
Percy returned a moment later, giving her another coke, making a few more apologies before leaving again. He still had a bright smile, but his eyes were dead.  
“Poor guy.” Piper muttered.  
“Percy can never catch a break.” Jason offered, making Annabeth glance over. “You know him?”  
Jason shrugged. “Not well. He’s in my math class. I know he’s on the swim team, works here practically anytime he’s not in class, and is worse than me at math. That’s about it.”  
Annabeth took another sip of her drink, glancing down at the table lost in thought.  
A minute later though Percy returned with a tray and someone else, holding a second one.  
They set down all the trays, again surprisingly in the right spot.  
“Sorry for the wait.” He offered, his voice tired and a bit shaky that sent another wave of anger and sympathy through Annabeth. This poor guy really didn’t need to deal with this shit.  
“No worries.” She offered, helping set some plates down so everyone was ready.  
As he set her plate down, he was pulling his hand away. She reached out quickly, grabbing his wrist. She felt him tense up, and even Piper seemed to tense at her side.  
“Thanks for the food. You’re doing fine.” She said, trying to make her voice gentle, which was a bit differently from her usual efforts to sound intimidating and serious.  
He was on guard for a minute, before her words seemed to sink in and he relaxed. He smiled at her, nodding. “Thank you.”  
He seemed to stand up a bit straighter, the over server clasped him on the back as they made their way back. “I think he needs a night of drinking more than we do.” Annabeth offered, earning a few laughs from the table as they all started to dig into their food.  
When Percy showed up with food for Octavian’s table, Annabeth had been watching them like a hawk, looking for a reason to go beat the hell out of them but they seemed happy enough about the food that they didn't cause much of a fuss and he was able to scutter away fast enough.  
They continued to eat, as they planned what they would do this weekend. Piper was trying to convince her to go shopping with her for some new clothes, when Annabeth saw two plates being slid onto the table. Annabeth leaned back instinctively, looking confused. She glanced around at her friends. “I don’t think we ordered…”  
Percy just stood up again now that the deserts were down. “It’s my way of apologizing for spilling your drink. No charge, it’s on the house.” He offered with a smile. Annabeth figured he was also glad they didn’t throw a fit with the accident, their troublemaker appearances probably only added to his relief.  
Annabeth glanced at the large cookie with a healthy dollop of ice cream on it that was still radiating heat, and the small chocolate cake. They both looked mouth-watering.  
“Are you sure?” She asked, not wanting him to get in trouble.  
He just waved her off. “My mom would be more upset if I didn’t make it up to you guys, especially after being… understanding customers.” He offered.  
“I mean I’m not going to say no…” Piper offered as she was already scooping a generous portion of the cookie onto one of the plates he set down.  
“You’re taking too much!” Reyna scolded as she started reaching in with her fork.  
Percy just offered her a small wave as he headed off to let them enjoy them.  
Annabeth watched his retreating form for a moment, interested in him. He was a mystery to her. He had a kind, playful smile, but he also seemed like he was always on edge. Like he could get in trouble at any time. Annabeth knew troubled people well, and she had a feeling his story wasn’t as clean as many people would imagine it to be.  
Thoughts of his past were lost though as Piper fed her a bit of the cookie, wiping her mind of any thoughts aside from making sure she got a lion's share of the desert.  
As if to make their night better, a few minutes later Octavian and his group of pals seemed to stand and leave.  
Annabeth winced as she saw there was no tip on table. Serious, that rich bastard couldn’t afford to tip a waiter he messed with the entire night? What a cheap asshole.  
Percy made his way over to the table, setting down the basket to collect the plates. His shoulders slumped when he discovered the lack of tip and Annabeth could tell he wasn’t exactly surprised either. But then he started to look through the bill more, looking under it, and checking the floor and benches. Annabeth was confused for only a minute before it clicked.  
They didn’t pay.  
“Son of a b-” Percy ripped off his apron and dashed out of the restaurant, ignoring the protests of the other waiter who tried to call out to him.  
“What…?”  
“They didn’t pay.” Annabeth growled out.  
Piper’s eyes widened as she looked to the table then out the door. “He’s not going to do anything stupid right?”  
Playing with the straw in her drink for a moment she thought. “I don’t know…” It wasn’t really her business to get involved in though. She figured they’d be gone and he would come back in a moment, but a few more minutes passed and there was still no sign of Percy. Annabeth was starting to feel antsy as he leg bounced in place. Did something happen?  
Then Percy wandered back in. His head was downcast and he just walked towards the back of the restaurant, with what looked like a slight limp.  
Annabeth felt her temper flare up as she stood up suddenly snapping to get Piper’s attention.  
“Come on real quick.”  
Piper nodded, standing up as they made their way to the back after Percy, the table going quiet.  
As they were about to turn the corner they heard the sound of something hitting the wall hard.  
“Fucking shit! Those pieces of shit assholes. Can’t they just fuck off?”  
As they turned the corner they saw Percy leaning forward against the wall. A small trash can was laying on it’s side as he stood there. “They didn’t pay?” Annabeth guessed, making him whip around, his eyes widening.  
“Oh! Uh… sorry. I’ll get out of your way.” He muttered as he picked up the trash bin, and started to walk past her.  
But she reached her arm out against the wall, blocking his path. “They didn’t pay right? Judging by the blood you tried to fight them too.”  
“They skipped on the bill. I just tried to get the money.” He muttered, still looking off to the side. “I got two of them.” He offered.  
Annabeth reached up and lifted his chin to get a better look. His lip was bleeding, along with the side of his hair.  
“Piper, text Jason and guard the door.” She said as she grabbed Percy’s wrist and dragged him into the bathroom, locking the door.  
He looked at her surprised. “What?”  
Annabeth moved over to the counter and grabbed some paper towels and started wetting them, before moving back to him, brushing his hair out of the way so she could see the cuts a little better. “I’m sure you guys have a first aid kit somewhere but you had to clean it properly.”  
He winced slightly at the contact to the wound but stayed quiet.  
“I can take care of myself.” He snapped, earning a smirk from her.  
“And two of them, apparently.”  
“I wasn’t trying to fight them! I just told them they needed to pay up and that skinny asshole wouldn’t shut up, and his face was just so punchable and I snapped. Before I knew it, the other two guys were on me. Someone started to come over so they took off.” He explained.  
“That’s being taken care of. They’re probably still around gloating right now.”  
Percy raised an eyebrow as Annabeth turned his face to the side, looking for any other cuts.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Just that Jason would kick their ass for less and Frank doesn’t like bullies.”  
Percy’s eyes widened. “I’m not looking for trouble. I just wanted their tab paid so my mom didn’t have to cover the cost.”  
Annabeth tossed the slightly bloody napkin away as she washed her hands. “You sound like a good son. She’s lucky.”  
“First I’ve heard that.” He countered a little darkly, making Annabeth paused. Troubled kid for sure.  
A knock on the door interrupted what she was about to say next. They stepped out a moment later as Piper handed Percy a few bills. His eyes widened. “You guys don’t need to…”  
“We didn’t.” Piper countered, grinning, gesturing back towards Jason and Frank who were sliding back into the booth, laughing.  
“They just forgot to pay so we reminded them.”  
Percy looked at the money, then the two girls before a crooked smile crept on his face. “Thanks.”  
Annabeth patted him on the shoulder as she went back to her table as Piper checked him over one last time, making sure he was good before she joined her back there.  
Hazel was fretting over Frank who had a slight bruise but Jason reassured them it was easy. Apparently Percy sold himself a bit short, he had done a number on them.  
When their food was done, they made sure to clean up their plates a bit, and they all chipped in to leave a generous tip for him. On their way out Annabeth stopped Percy.  
“When does your shift end?” Percy looked at her for a moment.  
“11, why?”  
Annabeth just winked at him. “No reason. You driving?”  
He gave her a weary look, but she figured she had earned his trust by then. “Nah, mom has the car. I’m walking. Why?”  
“No reason.” Annabeth repeated, before waving and walking out leaving him surely confused.  
As they left the diner, they watched him through the window for a moment. He started to clean up their table, and saw the tip. He looked around, as if something was wrong. Then she saw his hand cover his mouth for a moment before he bowed his head, probably a bit emotional. She had a feeling that tip meant more to him than just money.  
Satisfied that she actually did good for once, she finished piling in the car with the rest of them.  
“I’m not drinking tonight.” She informed Piper as they all headed over to the apartment to party. 

XxXxXxXxX

As the clock ticked to 11:05 Annabeth let out a yawn. Being up later was a lot less fun sober. Sure enough though Percy wandered out a few moments later, a jacket wrapped around him as he started towards the car. Her fears were confirmed as she saw a few guys get out a car at the same time.  
“Percy!” She called out, making the guys pause. Annabeth walked over, standing tall and confident. “Let’s go.” She said, gesturing to her car.  
Percy walked over to her, confused. “I appreciate the tip. More than you know. But…”  
Annabeth nudged her head towards the guys that were standing near their car still.  
“Some guys don’t know when to quit. Let me give you a ride.”  
Percy seemed to get the hint and nodded. “Cool.”  
Annabeth grinned and got back in the car.  
He looked over at her, looking her up and down once. “You’re… sober right? I heard you guys talking earlier…”  
Annabeth laughed. “Stone cold. Didn’t have a drink. I may like trouble but I’m not stupid. I won’t drive if I’ve had a drink.”  
Percy seemed to read her for a moment before nodding. “Cool. Didn’t mean to judge or anything just…”  
Annabeth shook her head. “Nah, you’re smart. I get it.”PunkA  
Percy told her where his apartment was as they headed over. The trip was mostly quiet aside from the radio, blasting some fallout boy that they both seemed to appreciate.  
“Thanks… for everything.” He said after a moment, making her jump slightly. She had almost forgotten he was in the car.  
She shrugged. “Octavian has been an asshole for years. Plus Piper says the diner is her favorite so we were just doing our civic duty.”  
Percy laughed at that. “True heroes of the street.”  
Annabeth laughed too as they fell into a more comfortable silence. Eventually they reached his apartments as she pulled up along the side.  
“Seriously, thanks for everything. Today sucked, but you guys made it a lot better. Pass along my thanks will you? To all of them. You seem like a fun group.”  
Annabeth nodded. “I’ll let them know. You should join us sometime though. I know you work a long, but you should have some fun. We’ll treat you right.” She promised with another wink.  
Percy laughed. “That’d… be cool actually.  
“Here.” Annabeth said as she fished out her phone and handed it to him with a new contact open. “Gimme your number. We’ll figure something out sometime.”  
He was surprised, but nodded. “Cool. Thanks again… uh…”  
Annabeth’s eyes widened as she realized she had never actually told him her name. “Annabeth Chase.”  
“Percy Jackson.” He replied, handing her back her phone.  
He got out of the car, waving once more before working his way up to his apartment and disappearing in it.  
As Annabeth drove back to the apartment, she grinned. Any guy that could have that bright of a smile, and take out two dudes in a fight definitely seemed like someone she wanted to hang out with. She may have driven a little too fast on her way back, ready to let Piper know everything that had happened.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know if you liked it, comments mean a lot to me! I posted this one separate from the One-Shot collections because I have a few ideas for another chapter or two if there's interest.


End file.
